The Plus & Minus ofSolo Travels and 'Singlehood'

I have never been to a place so magical that it made me wish that I did not travel alone… until I visited Venice, Italy. ​

I have survived a lot of things ALONE and actually enjoyed it ALONE; but I guess Venezia squeezed out the weak emotions hiding underneath my superficially courageous heart. ​

“The Floating City” is known for being a romantic place but I surely underestimated those Hollywood films declaring it as sweet, cheesy, mushy and all those love-related adjectives you could think of. ​

I thought that maybe there could be some magic in store for solo travelers like me.

But no! I was wrong. The powerful force of romantic Venezia was too strong to beat.

Do you know the feeling of seeing something so breathtaking that you actually feel the immediate need of squeezing someone else’s hand? #needy

And it is not just seeing. You could actually feel the love from strangers holding hands, smiling, kissing, and doing all sorts of stuff normal couples do in a romantic city. I typically just smile at this kind of happiness; but this time, I felt a thud in my heart.

Like a scar that you did not know existed before, the brokenness was suddenly alive and was scraping your once-emotionless heart to be corny again. ​

Maybe there is some kind of potion from these bridges that I suddenly felt lonely and blue.

And seeing honeymooners and couples doing touchy-feely gooey and in love made it worse.

And those gondoliers? Those black-striped tops made my heart slowly fade in black :-(

So I just took photos of them and imagined that one day I might find a partner whom I could go grand touchy-feely-gooey-corny along the Grand Canal. What a bitter, cruel and tragic feeling.

I have to say that this beautiful (evil) “Queen of the Adriatic” has this irresistible force that you cannot escape. ​

Or maybe the combination of boats, water and bridges churn out terrible effects on singles, no matter how happy they are in life.

It’s too charming and elegant that it leaves you with this miserable desire to have someone to appreciate art with.

But you’re alone, and you have this inexplicable romantic aura surrounding you everywhere you go. ​

And you cannot do anything about it.

Except distract yourself by going to other attractions... only to find out that everything here is just romantic!

Everything. Just like this hospital (Ospedale Civile Santi Giovanni e Paolo). How could you build a hospital so perfect like this!

You have to embrace the fact that you cannot escape this cheesy aura, but to face it with sentimental thoughts.

Or take selfies or ask strangers to take photos of you to remind yourself that not all romantic places are for solo travelers.

Folks, this is one of the highlights of my Eurotrip. The MINUS of solo traveling called Venezia.

BUT AFTER ALL THE LENGTHY BITTERNESS AND EXCESSIVE LONELINESS IN THIS POST...

I am not saying that solo travelers should not visit this place. You should because it is magical, historical, artsy, and breathtaking. ​

You should because, despite all these lonely emotions I shared with you, sometimes feeling blue is a good feeling.

Venezia reminded me that I am alive. I can be weak. And that I am human after all. And sometimes, no matter how independent or brave I imagine myself to be, I can still have emotions. Sometimes it takes this grand utopian paradise called Venezia to strike me with the right melancholy and blues.

But you’ll never know, maybe one day I’ll visit Venice again (with or without a mushy partner), carrying a braver heart :-P